The domain name system (“DNS”) is a hierarchical distributed naming system for resources provided by computer servers that are connected to the internet. It associates domain names to numeric internet protocol (“IP”) addresses of internet resources, including resources managed by web hosting providers, which provide the web server computers that serve the web pages associated with domain names. The DNS thus allows computers and humans to access networked resources, including web pages, using names.
A DNS “registry” is an authoritative, master database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain or other domain in which domain names can be registered. A registry includes many hardware computer servers operably coupled to the internet. A registry keeps the master database and also generates a “zone file” that includes DNS resource records for the top-level domain, which allows computers to look up DNS records in the top-level domain from anywhere in the world. Internet users generally interact with the registry via intermediaries. For ease of discussion, a registry is identified with its hardware computer servers unless otherwise specified or clear from context.
A “domain investor” is an internet user that purchases a domain name with the intent to later resell it at a higher price. That is, domain investors are interested in selecting domain names that will have a high resale value.